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| In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful |\
| Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salamun alaykum,
The reply to the following question was kindly provided by Br.
Shaun Astarabadi.
Wasalaam,
Mustafa Rawji
Moderator, 'Aalim Network
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QUESTION:
Salaam Alaikum,
I was asked by someone as to why in the Quranil Hakeeem sometimes
Allah refers to pronouns 'I' or 'Me', and at other times 'We'.
Can you please explain.
Thank you.
ANSWER:
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
It is proper in the Arabic language to utilize the plural form when
addressing a single person for respect. A common example of that is the
Islamic greeting "Assalamu 'alaikum", which is used even when addressing
a single individual as well as a group.
When Allah (swt) speaks in the Quran and sometimes He says "We", it is for
GRANDEUR, as in the holy ayas:
"We have, without doubt, sent down the message; and we will
assuredly guard it (from corruption)." [15:9]
"We do relate unto thee that most beautiful of stories, in that we
reveal to thee this (portion of the) Quran: before this, thou too
was among those who knew it not." [12:3]
An example of the use of "I Am", singular, is in these ayas:
"Verily, I am Allah: there is no god but I: so serve thou me
(only), and establish regulal prayer for celebrating my praise."
[20:14]
"O Moses! Verily I am Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise!" [27:9]
It is usually in proximity to the noun Allah, therefore it would be
improper Arabic to say 'We are Allah', because it would, incorrectly,
indicate plurality then!
Wassalam,
Shaun Astarabadi